Best Beef Stew

Cube the meat (with the exception of short ribs) into bite size pieces. Lightly salt both the short ribs and the meat and put cast iron skillet on medium, high and brown. All sides of the meat and the short ribs. You may have to wait a while because they tend to put a lot of water in meat these days. You want the outside to be brown.

Once this is done, deglase the pan with about a cup of chicken stock. Save this and add it to the stew later.

I typically do this the night before because I don't like to do all the prep at once.

Once this is done chop up the vegetables to however you like. I tend to dice the onions, quarter the carrots, slice the mushrooms, mince the scallions, etc.

In a large pot, put some olive oil or a fat of your choice and put on medium high. And the onions and vegetables to sweat a bit. Usually about 7 to 8 minutes. I like to add the meat at this time and brown a little bit more. Once that's done I like to mix all the vegetables and the various chicken stock as well as the water. Bring this to a boil and reduce heat. While this is happening, prepare the agar agar. Basically put it in some cold water and stir it a bit. Let it set for 10 minutes and then boil it in the microwave. If it looks like it's kind of gloopy, I just throw it in the Vitamix and mix it together to get rid of any undissolved bits. Incorporate into the stew and stir well. Also, don't forget to throw in the chicken bouillon as well. Let it set for 30 minutes and cook on medium medium low or or just medium. Slightly below a boil. Once this is done the stew can be put into jars or simply served.